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'Spike' Carter - Runcorn

Halifax Town drown in a sea of debt - full story

09 May 2008
By Dave Fletcher
HUGE tax debts have buried Halifax Town after almost 100 years as a football club.

Shock new figures put to a reconvened creditors meeting showed the cash-strapped Shaymen owed over £800,000 to the Inland Revenue.

The Revenue refused any deal and that effectively finished the club – already over £2 million in the red.

Administrators had been trying to broker a rescue package but speaking after five hours of talks that left liquidation near inevitable, administrator Rob Sadler said: "Halifax Town will probably perish."

It was originally thought the club – which narrowly clung on to its Blue Square Premier League status on the last day of the season last month – owed the taxman around £500,000. That was thought to leave scope for a deal.

But the news that it owed £814,000 meant that even if all the other creditors had accepted the 2.5p-in-the-pound offer originally on the table it would not have been enough.

Mr Sadler said it would have made no difference because creditors owed 75 per cent of the total debt needed to vote in favour of the offer.
As the club owed £2.1 million it meant the Revenue's share of the debt was too great.

"The cleanest way forward is to start from the bottom and build up debt free," he said. "If there is the appetite for it, that's up to the people of Calderdale."

There were no creditors at the meeting yesterday at the administrator Begbies Traynor offices in Leeds.

On Wednesday, creditors owed hundreds of thousands of pounds rejected the 2.5p proposal put by a consortium wanting to take control of the club. They had demanded at least 10p in the pound.

Mr Sadler said the club could only now exist as long as the consortium was prepared to throw money into it.

"There is no chance of the club playing Blue Square Premiership next season," he said.

"There is next to no chance of Blue Square North and a slim chance of Unibond League."

It is now only a matter of time before the club starts laying people off.

General manager Angie Firth walked away from the talks saying she was gutted.

Administrators had to agree a rescue deal by the end of yesterday to meet a deadline for acceptance into the Blue Square Premier League next season.

Under football rules, the offer to take the club out of adminstration would not be considered for 28 days – and the Football Conference annual meeting is on June 7 when next season's membership will be ratified.

Any new club formed in the wake of Town's demise might have to start five divisions lower under a new name in North Counties East Division One. That would put a new-look Halifax on the same level as Brighouse Town.

One creditor told the Courier yesterday he would not compromise.
Roy Barnett is owed nearly £200,000 and insisted he should receive 10p in the pound.

"I get £20,000 or I don't get anything. There is no room for negotiation."

His company, R M Barnett Ltd, of Huddersfield, was involved in building the half-finished East Stand at the Shay.

ok so i dnt know what he is payed but he does so much more for his wages than most managers in this league do

Its difficult to compare GH's job with most other managers in this League. Most managers spend much of there working day with thier proffesional players.

LOOKING AT THE DEBATE,THE OPINION IS THAT GH SHOULD GO.
IF GH DOES GO,DO YOU THINK THE BOARD WOULD GIVE A NEW MANAGER A BIGGER BUDGET?
I THINK NOT.
IF THAT IS THE CASE, I FEEL WE WOULD STRUGGLE TO GET ANOTHER QUALITY MANAGER.
REMEMBER,THE CROWDS IN THE BSN WILL BE A LOT LESS THAN THE BSP.

But surely its not all about size of budget, 4D. I thought the squad we had this season was superior than our final position suggested. Perhaps a different manager could do better with the same budget/players.
Or are you suggeting that "better" managers would be put off by our staff budget?

Don't feed the trolls
We've been relegated again and deserve some of the flack we're bound to take.
Unfortunateley there are those Alty fans who would take great pleasure in trolling our rivals forums if the boot were on the other foot

my Alzheimer’s not as bad as I thought..or was it something else?

Here's mine
I've got no choice but to play two left backs - and it's for a pre-season friendly so i'll have as many subs as I like - so there!

GK Stepney
RB Davison
CH Ellender
CH Rowlands
LB Adams (D)
LW Showler
CM King (J)
CM Daws
RW Howard
CF Rogers
CF McKenna

Subs
Coburn
Harris
Barrow
Owens (J)
Johnson
Little
Anderson
Freeman

..and Kelly
and Ellison

My Dad used to drag me down in the 60's when I was knee high - can't remember much about those days apart from rolling down the grass bank at the chequers end. We moved away, first to Scotland and then back down to Cheadle. During the late 70's I followed Liverpool (mainly to annoy my Utd supporting Brother). My dad took me to see a Alty vs Liverpool XI freindly (78/79?), Then a few months later, the seeds being sowed, I caught the 371 bus on my own to watch Alty Vs Bangor City. I was amazed at the football and the characters - Kingy, JR, JJ, Barry Howard - but more importantly felt that I mattered to the club, rather than being a speck in a 40,000 crowd. Alty gave me an identity as a teenager, I was the Alty fan in my school.
But what a time to start my official career as an Alty fan. Months later we were playing Spurs in the cup, then into the Aliance Prem and more cup runs and two championships. When I look back at those days I can't belive we actually lost a few games. I couldn't get to many away games but was so hooked that I would save up by dinner money and on occasion walked from Cheadle to Alty and back.
Its not all been down hill since then. There is a lot to be proud about today- staying in the BSP and doing it in the right way (off the field), there is something special about Alty, not just the history, look at the amount of former players who still come back to watch - once Alty is in your blood, you're hooked for life